Hindu man's properties attacked with stones by Muslim mob raising 'Sar Tan Se Juda' slogans over forwarded WhatsApp message on Islam

Case Summary
Sixteen Muslims were arrested for pelting stones at a Hindu businessman, Kailash Kabra's residence and business premises. The attack, involving a mob of around 40-50 Muslims, targeted Kabra’s residence and business premises over allegations that he had committed a 'blasphemous' act against Islam. The incident unfolded after claims that Kabra had forwarded an 'objectionable' message on WhatsApp regarding Islam. It is important to mention that the Hindu man had forwarded a WhatsApp message which the Muslims deemed derogatory. A complaint against Kabra was also filed by Mohammed Hasham Khan Afzal, citing derogatory remarks against the Prophet. Despite police registering a complaint against the Hindu man, the Muslims launched an attack at his residence and business premises. The Muslim mob took to the streets to organise a ‘Basmat bandh’ and raised slogans like “Allah-hu-Akhbar” and “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda.” Vasmat Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rajkumar Kendre and his team, who were dispatched to control the situation, were also attacked and sustained injuries during the violence. Kendre reported that the mob of 50 individuals hurled stones and even threatened the police, demanding they leave the area. “We suffered severe injuries as the mob continued pelting stones even at the officers,” he said. The mob also threatened to kill the officers and burn their vehicles if they didn’t retreat. Based on the complaint filed by Kendre, around 12 Muslims identified as Sheikh Mohsin Sheikh Hasan, Khalid Akhtar Jameer Ahmed, Sheikh Arbaz Sheikh Mehmood, Sheikh Nadeem Sheikh Moin, Mohammed Shoaib Mohammed Maksood, Musharaf Kajoloddin Faruqi, Mohammed Sohail Mohammed Maksood, Sheikh Ajeem Sheikh Moin, Arbaaz Sheikh, Junaid, Aarfaat Sheikh and Sayyed Javed Sayyed Khanja have been booked. Moreover, eight persons were detained by the police from the spot and the other eight were arrested following the search operation. Further, the police are trying to nab 20 persons involved in stone pelting.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the database under two prime categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, two sub-categories have been selected. The first is- Attacked over 'blasphemy'. Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. The second sub-category under which the case has been placed is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus and within this, the sub-category selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. Here, the house and business of a Hindu man were targeted by a Muslim mob over alleged 'blasphemy'. Stones were pelted by an irate Muslim mob who took to the streets, raising 'Sar Tan Se Juda' slogans and injuring police officers who tried to normalise the situation. It is important to note here that even though the man had shared a WhatsApp forward and was booked by the police, the mob's actions went beyond the legal process and escalated into a physical assault on his properties, which is indicative of a larger pattern of religious extremism. As seen in several cases, the Blasphemy law is often used as a tool of oppression and violence, leading to false accusations, mob justice, and social ostracisation of Hindus. This law, which is liberally used in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh to attack minority Hindus residing there, has become increasingly common in India too, where bloodthirsty Islamists often twist and use these laws to settle their scores with Hindus. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice. Hindus are targeted because of their religious identity. Likewise, “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi saza, sar tan se Juda, sar tan se Juda”, which translates to “There is only one punishment for being disrespectful to Rasool (Prophet Muhammad), their head separated from their torso, their head separated from the torso”, is an Islamist clarion call, that has become a staple feature of violent protests that have so far claimed the lives of at least 6 Hindus, including Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe in Amravati, after Muslim fundamentalists, egged on by the dog-whistling of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, resorted to violence for what they perceived as ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad. From Kanpur in India’s northern plains to the southern metropolis of Bengaluru, from Kolkata in the east to Hyderabad in the south, protests in the name of blasphemy have erupted in almost every corner of the country as Islamists took to the streets running amok and shouting “Sar Tan Se Juda” chants over the perceived belief of blasphemy against the Prophet. Though a radical Muslim outfit in Pakistan coined the slogan, it has gained popularity among Islamists in regions beyond its geographical origins. Over the years, we have seen large crowds of Islamists chanting the “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogan, which is nothing but a direct incitement to violence, leading to murders committed in the name of blasphemy. The radicalised outcry is not merely a statement of disapproval; it is a call for the execution of an individual through beheading, based on their religious identity. When this slogan is raised, it sends a clear and terrifying message not just to the individual targeted but also to anyone else who might share similar views or dare to express them. This tactic of intimidation aims to silence dissent and suppress freedom of expression, particularly in religious discourse. It aims to instil fear in the broader community. Islamists use this tactic to settle personal scores with Hindu and Christian families by levelling fabricated charges of blasphemy against them, which causes outrage and paints a target behind them. The underlying hatred and animosity toward non-Muslims, especially Hindus, drive these false blasphemy accusations as a means to subjugate and victimise them. As a result, this case is classified as a religiously motivated hate crime and has been documented accordingly. Disclaimer: The details of this case reveal that several police officers were injured in the mob violence, however, since it does not mention the exact number of victims and it is explicitly mentioned that the SDPO was severely injured in the incident we have kept the victim count as 1 in the database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 1
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Case sub-judice

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
male